February 1st 2018 - Bill S-238 Ban on Shark Fins - Various Witnesses

Senator Poirier: Thank you for being here. I have a couple of questions.

As far as you’re concerned, is there a worldwide trend moving to eliminate the fin trade, or is there resistance from certain countries or different parts of the world?

Ms. Bouffard: That's a good question. The reports we’ve provided will demonstrate, at least from our perspective, that there is a trend in increasing the management measures to prevent the activity from happening at sea. So we can very clearly see some improvements from the 2012 report, as I just mentioned, to 2016.

We also see a desire by many citizens and societies trying to influence their governments to adopt more measures, but none have adopted outright trade bans associated to this.

There’s a bit of speculation on my part to try to figure out why they’re not doing that and whether there are competitive reasons for not doing it.

As part of the trade of shark fish products globally, there are legitimate fisheries out there, and legitimate fish products coming from shark fisheries. Shark meat is sold in many markets. There are imports into Canada from countries like Spain and the U.S. that have the necessary measures and procedures to monitor activities at sea.

I know Brian could give you examples of the discussions occurring internationally at the regional levels to address shark finning. There’s a growing momentum and will by countries to address the issue at sea, but I’m not seeing the momentum in terms of trade measures per se.

Mr. Lester: As a follow-up, in regional fisheries management organizations, there has been a move from rules that were eliminating or allowing finning at sea with a 5 per cent maximum fin ratio to the new measure of fins attached that was adopted at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization in 2016. The 2017 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas also put that on the table. Unfortunately it was not passed, but 40-some countries supported moving to a fins-attached measure.

We all agree the best way to avoid finning at sea is to make sure that it is landed with the fin attached, which is the way Canada has moved. At all of our fisheries, it will be mandatory fins-attached as of this March.

Senator Poirier: The anti-finning measures have been gradually introduced in several jurisdictions over the years, yet the practice continues in several parts of the world. In your opinion, why is finning still prevalent, despite global efforts to restrict the practice?

I’ve also read lately that China and Japan are opposed to the fin-attached policy. In your opinion, why would Japan and China oppose this policy?

Mr. Lester: I don’t think we have an answer as to why they oppose it. You’re correct: In international fora where we’ve been with them, they are the two countries that have stood up against the fins-attached measures when we’ve brought it to the table.

Senator Poirier: They don’t say why?

Mr. Lester: Typically, they do not say why. They just oppose it. Unfortunately, they were the two oppositions at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. That was the reason the recommendation did not get passed. The ICCAT is a consensus organization.

Senator Poirier: This is my last question. Is there a likelihood that another country would challenge a Canadian ban on shark fin imports?

Ms. Bouffard: As I mentioned earlier, it depends on how that trade measure is framed. We are assessing, as I mentioned, what could be done to mitigate those risks.

I can’t give you a blanket “yes” or “no” response. It really depends, especially on whether the measure factors in and introduces something that’s comparable for domestic trade. It’s a very important point associated to that.

In terms of your previous question, I’m going to refer to that FAO report of 2012 regarding Japan and China. Japan is listed as one of the key shark-fishing nations for which information is available. The alphabet soup you see in the column RFMO are all the regional organizations for fisheries on the high seas. Shark fishing happens on the high seas, but it also happens in coastal zones of states.

In terms of the high seas part of it, many of these organizations have adopted shark-finning management measures, such as what Brian just referred to, and Japan is a party to those. So to the extent that those organizations, like NAFO listed here, have adopted shark-finning measures, Japan is bound to respect those when they fish on the high seas.

Senator Poirier: Thank you.

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